This invention relates to fungicide, and more particularly to an organic fungicide for plants.
Plants are constantly challenged by a wide variety of pathogentic organisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and menatodes. Attempts have been made to control plant disease by means of disinfections, replacement of the soil, various cultural practices, and control by chemicals. Some plants suffer from detrimental soil-spread diseases, which have not been possible to control owing to restrictions of use of chemical control agents and hazard periods due to possible residues or lack of sufficiently effective products.
The control of fungi is important since fungal growth on plants or on parts of plants inhibits production of foliage, fruit or seed, and the overall quality of a cultivated crop. About twenty-five (25) percent of all fungal diseases in agricultural and horticulture are caused by powdery mildew phytopathogens.
Due to the vast economic ramifications of fungal propagation in agricultural and horticultural cultivations, a broad spectrum of fungicidal and fungistatic products have been developed for general and specific applications. Such examples are the use of inorganic bicarbonate, carbonate compounds, lecithin, and lime. However, these fungicidal and fungistatic products may be harmful to the environment and may pollute areas such as ground waters. Thus, there is a need for an organic fungal treatment which provides for an inexpensive way to control fungi without harming the environment and protect the plants with a minimum of phytotoxic side effects.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be present in more detail in the following specification of the invention and in the associated figures.
The present invention is a fungicidal solution and method for controlling fungal disease in plants which provides for contacting the plant matter with a fungicidally effective application of an aqueous solution. The fungicidal solution is comprised of between about one-third (⅓) to two-third (⅔) cup of an organic plant matter to every two-third (⅔) gallon of a fermented solution. The organic plant may be any type of sage, tea leaves, coffee leaves, beech leaves, eucalyptus leaves, oak leaves, sumac leaves, and other plant leaves, or bark. The fermented solution contains between about (1%) one percent to (25%) twenty-five percent of alcohol, such as ethanol, per gallon of organic plant solution.
The method of preparing the fungicidal solution comprises boiling a solution of at least two-third (⅔) cup of the organic plant matter in one-half (xc2xd) gallon of water, boiling down the solution to one-third (xc2xd) gallon, cooling and straining the solution, and adding at least two-third (⅔) gallon of a fermented solution to the solution.